“I want a girl who’s easy, who goes around in a coat and nothing else. I want a girl who’s already given it up to my slave.”

—Martial, Epigrams 9.32

When she returns to the house, Philos is absent. It is Victoria who greets her, embracing her in the atrium. Amara can tell instantly that something is wrong.

“What is it?” she asks, thinking of Secundus’s suspicions, frightened he must have warned Rufus about Philos.

“Why don’t we go to your rooms?” Victoria says, leading her out of earshot of Juventus. They hurry to her first chamber and sit down together on the couch. Victoria takes her hand, which only makes Amara more afraid. “Rufus isn’t very happy,” she says quietly. “He’s jealous. He’s even been asking me questions.”

“Why?” Amara asks, clutching her. “About what?”

“Pliny of course!” Victoria says. “And I’m not surprised. Why on earth did you decide to go on a jaunt with a former lover?”

“The admiral was never my lover!”

“Oh, save it for Rufus.” Victoria sighs. “I was there, Amara. I remember when you came back to the brothel, all lovesick for the old man. You even told me the pair of you slept together! Though of course, I swore blind to Rufus you never did.”

“But it’s true,” Amara protests. “We didn’t have sex; we just slept in the same bed. I didn’t want to tell you at the time, in case you laughed at him.” She is telling the truth, but even to her own ears, the claim sounds ludicrous.

“You know it’s only Rufus you have to lie to,” Victoria retorts. “I don’t see why you can’t be honest with me.”

“But it’s true—I swear it!”

“Fine,” Victoria says, obviously annoyed by what she perceives as Amara’s lack of trust. “You didn’t fuck him. The man hired a prostitute for a week and lay in bed with her and only wanted her to read him books, which any other slave could have done for him. There you were, completely naked, and he never touched you.” She stands up. “Maybe invent something more plausible for Rufus. And please remember it’s not just your future on the line. If you can’t convince Rufus, I’ve nowhere to go either.”

Amara watches Victoria leave, unable to suppress her bitterness. “Dido would have believed me.”

Victoria stops. Amara waits for the explosion, but Victoria does not turn around. “Maybe if you treated me the way you treated her, I would believe you too.”